It’s rare that I scroll through Twitter and exclaim: “Oh no!” But I did that this morning when I saw that my former LBC colleague John Stapleton had died at the age of 79.

John had made a name for himself in the 1980s and 1990s as a consummate TV host, whether on Watchdog, alongside his beloved wife Lynn Faulds-Wood, or hosting ‘The Time the Place’ or various incarnations of the ITV breakfast show, where he was a regular presenter until 2015.

Viewers trusted him. They appreciated his self-deprecation. They enjoyed his odd fluff. But most importantly, they liked him. Indeed, I cannot think of anyone who ever had a bad word to say about him. And there aren’t many people like that in the competitively cut-throat world of current affairs broadcasting. Viewers and listeners knew there was no side to John. He could spot bullshit from a guest a mile away. And if he sniffed it out, he would expose it only too readily.

John started covering shows on LBC in 2012 and the listeners took to him immediately. I soon asked if he could be my regular holiday cover, and over the next five years or so he performed the same role in many other slots too. Why did we all want him? Because we knew he would retain the audience. Some presenters like their holiday cover to be, well, how shall I put it, not as good as them. I never thought in that way, because if a below average replacement performs badly they’ll lose the audience, and once a listener is lost, it’s by no means automatic that they will return to the fold when you return.

John was loved by producers who dubbed him ‘Honest John’. They knew he was a total professional and would treat them well and treat them with respect.

When John started covering me on Drive, the show was four hours long. “Eeee,” he’d often say to me, “I don’t know how you do it.” He’d say that in the last hour he was desperate to go to sleep! Whenever I saw him in the following years, he would tell me how presenting on LBC was the hardest thing he’d ever done in broadcasting, but he loved every minute of it.

I remember bumping into Lynn and John at the London Palladium at a football awards event. Lynn took me aside and thanked me profusely for “looking after” John during his five years at LBC. She told me he thought I was an outstanding broadcaster. That meant the world to me, coming from someone who really was outstanding at what he did.

In October 2022 I recorded an 80 minute long ALL TALK podcast with him, looking back at his life and career. I sat there in awe, as he told story after story. I never really thought he got the recognition from the broadcasting industry for his work. Yes, he won the odd award but because he wasn’t flashy or lead a celebrity lifestyle, he was never as high profile as some of his colleagues. He much preferred to be with his family or to be watching his beloved Manchester City.

In October 2024, John was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I interviewed him about it, and was very worried I’d get a bit emotional. John was rather phlegmatic about it and accepted it with his typical northern grit. He knew it would only get worse and naturally worried that it would inhibit his ability to communicate, which was, after all, his life.

John’s son Nick – of whom he was immensely proud - has said today that he was "incredibly blessed to have had two pretty remarkable parents". He said his father was "a very loving, unbelievably generous man" who left on "his own terms, without suffering." He concluded: "You won't meet anyone with a bad word to say about him. And you can't do much better than that."

Indeed. I regard it as an absolute privilege to have known him.

Listen to Iain’s All Talk podcast interview with John from 2022 HERE